Abbott's Xience Stent Shines in Trial

By

Jon Kamp

Updated March 24, 2007 9:26 p.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS -- A pivotal trial for Abbott Laboratories Inc.'s "Xience" drug-coated stent met its main and secondary goals, putting the company in position to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the device.

Xience is seen by analysts as a key entry in the market for coated stents -- a market that has been dinged recently by concerns over device safety. In the Spirit III trial on Xience released Saturday, at the American College of Cardiology's annual conference, Abbott's stent performed better than...